It was a clear night, and the bright moon shone above in a perfect Cheshire Cat smile. Some 238,900 miles away from the moon floating in Earth’s orbit, a few dozen Camp Verde residents stood in Rezzonico Family Park, congregating around high-powered telescopes under the starlight on a dark Saturday night.
One of those telescopes pointed squarely at that four-day-old moon, letting onlookers get a closer glimpse of the surface of Earth’s satellite. The white disk often seen nightly transformed into a solid rock, pockmarked with craters and other features. Looking through the telescope, amateur astronomers could see how the crescent moon really was a shadow as the light faded on the white face of the moon, eclipsed by the Earth. Helpful guides pointed out that three of the craters on the surface made the unmistakeable shape of two ears on the side of Mickey Mouse’s iconic round head.
The Star Party held by the Astronomers of Verde Valley on Saturday, May 19, was the second held in Camp Verde this year, after a previous stargazing event held in February. For the astronomy club, this event comes at a moment of progress. In March, Camp Verde submitted an application to the International Dark Sky Association to become recognized as an official Dark Sky Community.
There are 18 certified International Dark Skies communities, four of which — Flagstaff, Fountain Hills, Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek — are in Arizona. With Yavapai and Coconino counties already implementing dark sky ordinances to cut down on light pollution, Astronomers of Verde Valley are embarking on a project to further the certification to towns and cities in the area, which could allow the whole Verde Valley to be certified as a dark sky area.
Along with Camp Verde’s application, the club’s president Bruce Morrow sees his hometown of Cottonwood as the next step for dark sky certification. Beyond the county’s ordinances, municipalities must implement their own additional local laws, allowing for enforcement of the rules.
The goals of these ordinances are not only to limit light, but to manage it, designing street lamps and other public lights that point down rather than out, preserving the darkness in the community.
Members of the group see the value of astronomy not only in recreation, but in economics and tourism.
“Arizona has more large commercial telescopes than anywhere in the world,” said the group’s former president JD Maddy, referring to the more than 80 in the state. Maddy had his high-powered telescope pointed at Venus, which he said was 83 percent illuminated, but would be rising higher in the sky over the course of the month. “That’s why it’s so important that Arizona wants to keep its skies dark. We’d lose hundreds of millions in business if astronomy went away.”
Some of that was on display Saturday night, with several attendees hailing from out of town as part of a WeekendZona trip to Camp Verde with Local First, a nonprofit that promotes local businesses throughout the state.
Laurie Berg Sapp came up from Phoenix for the weekend, along with more than 20 others on the trip, spending the weekend trying out the local restaurants and farmers market, kayaking and horseback riding, before being wowed by the display from the astronomers.
“I love it. The actual astronomers are so knowledgeable,” Berg Sapp said. “They’re showing you where to look, how to look, and what to look for.”
In addition to being a tourism destination, the star party gave residents of Camp Verde the opportunity to remind themselves of how special their own area can be.
“It’s beautiful here in Camp Verde. You can sit on your back porch and see the stars,” said local resident Julie Scott. “But gaining insight on the names of the stars makes it more intriguing to me.”
For the astronomers who brought their telescopes out to Rezzonico Family Park, showing off nebulae and stars up close, the opportunity to get the community involved only increases their own enjoyment.
“One of the elements of making the application is the community involvement,” Maddy said.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
